Star Advertiser: President Barack Obama is spending the first afternoon of the New Year at a sunny beach on a Marine base near his rented vacation home. The president, his family and friends took a short motorcade ride from Kailua, where they are staying, to Pyramid Rock Beach at the edge of Marine Corps Base Hawaii midday Saturday … Pyramid Rock has been dubbed “one of Oahu’s bodysurfing jewels” … the president began his day with a workout at the base’s Semper Fit gym.

USA Today: In Hawaii, they’re waiting for the president. First lady Michelle Obama, daughters Malia and Sasha, and dog Bo arrived at the beach community of Kailua over the weekend, but President Obama is still in Washington waiting for the lame duck Congress to war up its pre-Christmas work.

“I’m very excited,” said Virginia Carnohan, owner of The Cottage gift shop about 2 1/2 miles from where the Obama family and friends will spend Christmas and New Year’s. “We have a local boy who’s president and everybody’s very proud of that,” said Chuck Prentiss, chairman of the Kailua Neighborhood Board…..